Hello,I am a 30 old male who has smoked for 11 years, though for the past 3 it has been very light. I noticed a small clear, hard cyst right in the middle of my lower lip. It is a wierd little thing, because it will appear, burst, go away, a repeat. I first noticed this about 2 months ago and now it seems that there is a tissue mass or physical object directly underneath where the original cyst was. I have managed to fiddle with the thing enough that there is scar tissue and it is more noticable now than before. I was at the dentist 4 months ago and was told that I didn't have any lumps or spots and had geat oral heath. I have made an appointment to see a DR next monday because I can't stand not knowing what the heck it is. Should I be concerned, aren't there 100's of little ducts in the mouth that could be the culprit? I am nervous and driving myself crazy. Any info or advice would be great.

This is most likely a mucocele, a very common oral occurrence. There are indeed thousands of little openings in the soft tissues of your mouth each which secrete moisture to keep everything wet. When one of these becomes clogged up (for many different and benign reasons) a mucocele forms. Mine occur over and over again in the same spot for a week or so and then finally things clean out and it goes away. They can also occur from minor trauma to the soft tissue, and the most common place for this to occur is the inside of the lower lip and the inside of the cheeks. They are usually almost perfectly round, filled with clear fluid, and the overlying layer of tissue is almost clear. The tender wall of these little cysts eventually breaks, usually during eating, and the fluid flows out, and the cyst heals by secondary intent (on its own)

_________________________
Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.

Me too, I also get mucoceles, the dentist told me years ago what they, when I was sure it was cancer. Mine are usually around my lower gums, and seem to appear like a fever blister, when I`m under a lot of stress.............Dee